Alabama people
 Alabama-Coushatta Reservation, Texas
|
|
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 1,517 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 United States (Oklahoma) |
380 enrolled members, Alabama-Quassarte Tribal Town |
|
United States (Texas) |
1,137 enrolled members, Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas |
| Languages | |
| Alabama-Coushatta | |
| Religion | |
| Protestantism, traditional beliefs | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Coushatta, Hitchiti, Chickasaw, Choctaw, other Muscogee Creek people | |
The Alabama or Alibamu (Albaamaha in the Alabama language) are a Southeastern culture people of Native Americans, originally from Alabama. They were members of the Muscogee Creek Confederacy, a loose trade and military organization of autonomous towns; their home lands were on the upper Alabama River.
The Alabama and closely allied Coushatta people migrated from Alabama and Mississippi to the area of Texas in the late 18th century and early 19th century, under pressure from European-American settlers to the east. They essentially merged and shared reservation land. Although the tribe was terminated in the 1950s, it achieved federal recognition in 1987 as the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas. Its 1,137 members have about 4,500 acres (18 km2) of reservation.
The Alabama-Quassarte Tribal Town is a federally recognized tribe, headquartered in Wetumka, Oklahoma.
The Alabama language is part of the Muskogean language family. Alabama is closely related to Koasati and distantly to Hitchiti, Chickasaw and Choctaw. Also known as Alibamu. An estimated 100 speakers, primarily from Texas, still speak the language.
The Alabama first encountered Europeans when Hernando de Soto arrived in 1540. (See here for other de Soto contactees) In the 18th century, the French arrived on the Gulf Coast and built a fort at what became Mobile, Alabama.
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Wikipedia